Search - On the Edge: The Femicide in Ciudad Juarez on DVD

Disturbing and Haunting

Mel Odom | Moore, OK USA | 11/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I live in Oklahoma and I had no idea this was going on. How can over 400 young Mexican women be murdered so casually, yet less than three percent of the murders be "solved?" When you add in the fact that another 4000 are missing, presumed dead as well, the numbers get to be staggering. The evils behind this social injustice are even worse. And they're all accepted, to one degree or another.

Steev Hise considers himself to be an artist who digs around in culture, finding old things that interest him and making them new again. I think he's more of a crusader than he's willing to admit. He keeps himself out of his production and lets the facts and the people involved talk about the murders and the casual acceptance of it. It's going to be interesting to see where he goes next.

The DVD is powerful and shocking. Hise evidently found a number of people who have been talking about the murders for years, seeking some kind of justice, and he allows their passion burn on the screen. More than that, he breaks the film into segments that underscore all the social causes, economic causes, and political causes that have contributed to the deaths of so many. The presentation is well thought out, and well argued.

If you don't know about these murders, you will. Either through this DVD or through two Hollywood movies coming out that touch on the subject matter much more lightly than Hise did. One is an upcoming Jennifer Lopez/Antonio Banderas film.

Even more disturbing is the fact that Ciudad-Juarez may be the model for the coming world as corporations continue to run things and benefits for employees continue to disappear. It's easy to think this is just a horrible thing happening to an economically depressed border town, but it's even worse whe you start thinking this may be the blueprint for the future."

Sad and hard to believe.

Amy L. Butler | 10/24/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It is hard to believe that in this day and age this type of tragedy is allowed to happen, over and over again. The set up of the DVD is a little hard to follow and a bit confusing at times. But it is worse watching to make people aware of what is going on. It is hard to watch, but something we need to be aware of."